Illinois Wesleyan University
Digital Commons @ IWU
John Wesley Powell Student Research
Conference
1992, 3rd Annual JWP Conference
Apr 25th, 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM
An Analysis of the Celtic and Slavic Elements in the
German Language
Elizabeth Crail
Illinois Wesleyan University
Julie Prandi, Faculty Advisor
Illinois Wesleyan University
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Elizabeth Crail and Julie Prandi, Faculty Advisor, "An Analysis of the Celtic and Slavic Elements in the German Language"
(April 25, 1992). John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference. Paper 42.
http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprc/1992/posters/42
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AN ANALYSIS OF THE CELTIC AND SLAVIC ELEMENTS
IN THE GERMAN LANGUAGE
Elizabeth Crail, Dept. of Foreign Lang., IWU , Julie Prandi*
This analysis concerns the linguistic history of the German language' and concentrates on
the specific influence exerted on it by the Celtic and Slavic tongues with which it carne in contact.
The sources are a number of general studies on German linguistic history, some of which are
specifically oriented toward the Slavic elements. Due to the different periods in which the
various sources were written, the determination of the actual ,word sources vary, sometimes
considerably. For this reason it was necessary to compare the relative merits of the arguments
for or against any particular source before personally determining its validity. This was made
possible by general linguistic studies throughout the semester which afforded the necessary
knowledge to make such decisions.
Since the Celtic language was the earliest for which there is any proof that it exerted
influence on the German language, such comparisons are very important not only for
understanding 'some of the earliest word origins, but also for facts about the unwritten history of
the early Germanic tribes. For instance, the German word "Reich", meaning kingdom or empire
is considered to have been borrowed from the Celts primarily on account of the vowel. While
the word "Reich" is related to the Latin "rex", it must have corne from the Celtic "rig", also
related to "rex", because of the "ei" sound in the modern form of the word. The knowledge that
words of this nature were borrowed from the Celts suggests that the Celtic culture was more
advanced in many ways than the original Germanic tribes which wandered into the area.
The Slavic loan words found in German are much less prevalent and very random in area
of influence, because most of the contact was after the Germans were the more advanced culture,
and therefore most of the borrowing was German words into the Slavic tongues rather than the
other way around. The different Germanic languages and dialects have been differently
influenced by other languages depending on which part of Germany they originated in. The
Celtic influence is much stronger in the southwest of Germany, whereas the Slavic influence is
stronger in the southeast German-speaking areas, particularly in Vienna.
The study of such linguistic influences makes not only for a better understanding of the
language itself, but also of the history of the people and thus their relationships with the peoples
who influenced them and their language.